Dream Weaver

September 15, 2014
Most famous for his mid-â70s solo hits "Dream Weaver" and "Love is Alive," former Spooky Tooth front man stitches together a quilt of his life, starting with his early days in New Jersey and then in London with his first band the New York Tymes and his early success with Spooky Tooth. His mercurial rise and fall as solo artist follows, as does his deepening spiritual understanding of life, and his days gardening, playing music, and discussing Indian philosophy with George Harrison. In pedestrian prose, Wright recalls his apprehension at first meeting Harrison, who had asked Wright to play on All Things Must Pass, but such nervousness melts in the face of Harrison's peaceful aura and spiritual magnetism. As their relationship develops, Harrison introduces Wright to Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda, providing a morsel for Wright's growing appetite for spirituality. Although the book features several never-before-seen photographs as well as the previously unreleased lyrics of "To Discover Yourself," co-written by Wright and Harrison, Wright's narrative is surprisingly lackluster.

September 15, 2014

Singer and musician Wright had his biggest success in the mid-Seventies with his hit "Dream Weaver." In this breezily written memoir, Wright relates his life from his boyhood in New Jersey, his years in London in the Sixties as a founding member of the band Spooky Tooth, and his solo career in the 1970s and beyond. His story is framed and illuminated by an increasing interest and devotion to Eastern spirituality, meditation, and philosophy, which he writes about with feeling, presenting the comfort and peace that it brings to his own life to the reader. Wright met George Harrison during the making of the former Beatle's first solo album and formed a lifelong and influential friendship with him as both men shared enthusiasm for music, Eastern philosophy, and a love of travel. The author writes about his late companion with heartfelt emotion and chronicles their musical collaborations, a transcendent trip to India, and their similar philosophies of life. VERDICT Wright is descriptive, generous, and thoughtful in his reminiscences, and his book will appeal to music fans as well as those concerned with spiritual journeys and philosophy.--James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

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